It looks as though the upcoming Intel Nova Lake-S CPU family will launch soon, headed-up by a 28-core Core Ultra 9 CPU. A new PassMark benchmark spotted by VideoCardz now purports to show expected performance of that 28-core Nova Lake-S CPU in two separate benchmark runs. The CPU, which is listed as "Nova Lake Client Platform," with the motherboard model giving it away as "NVL-S Embedded CRB 1 Fab2 Board," appears alongside an eight-core NVL-S CPU, and both CPUs achieve decent scores in the single-threaded performance benchmarks.

According to the PassMark database scores, the eight-core NVL-S scores up to 5,085 points, while the 24-core variant tops out at 5,210 points. Meanwhile, the 28-core—ostensibly the Core Ultra 9 4970K BFC—scores as high as 61,509 points in the multithreaded CPU test, and the eight-core variant, likely a Core Ultra 3 or 5 CPU, scores 23,478 points. If these PassMark scores are accurate, this puts the Core Ultra 9 4970K BFC at around 85% of the performance of an AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D in multicore performance, while the CPU beats out the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K on single-threaded performance but misses out on matching the outgoing Intel chip by 5,721 points or around 8.5%.

A day after EA shut down BioWare, a trailer for the canceled next Mass Effect game has leaked online, and it seems the game was going to be called Mass Effect: Universe. Reddit user Random_Hyabusa_Ninja posted the roughly two-minute clip on r/masseffect on October 22, first in the replies of another post, and then as a standalone post. Bloomberg's Jason Schreier has since confirmed on Bluesky that it's a real trailer for the Mass Effect game BioWare was working on up until the closure. The clip is a cinematic rather than gameplay. It follows a new human protagonist, with no sign of Shepard, through a tense bar conversation with an Asari who appears to be Liara T'Soni, cuts to a few gunfights and a Krogan, and ends on the Mass Effect: Universe logo.

The leak also raises questions about how far along the game actually was. EA's internal memo described it as being in early development, and around 50 of the 400 jobs EA is cutting were tied to it. However, a Reddit user claiming to be an EA employee said the trailer had been ready for months and that the project was further along than people think. BioWare first teased the game back in 2020, so that claim doesn't seem far-fetched, but its source is questionable at best. There's no word from EA on the leak so far, though it's reasonable to expect takedown requests to follow.

GameStop is now reportedly asking $1,399.99 for a pre-owned PlayStation 5 Pro, which is $500 more than Sony's $899.99 list price for a new one. Consoles with the disc drive attached go for $1,499.99, and GameStop Pro members apparently get the base unit for $1,329.99. An internal memo shared on the r/GameStop subreddit, reportedly by a store employee, addresses the gap directly. It says "the preowned console will have a higher price than the new console," and calls this "intentional." The memo doesn't seem to spell out a reason, but it isn't hard to guess. New PS5 Pro units are largely sold out at list price, and the few listings left at big retailers are apparently going for around $1,500.

Contrary to how it may appear at first, then, GameStop's used price still sits under what a new console costs on the open market today. The same memo reportedly puts trade-in values at $800 for the Pro and $850 with a disc drive, which is more than the console's $699.99 launch price in 2024. Sony raised the PS5 Pro to $899.99 in April and blamed rising memory costs. With GTA 6 arriving on November 19 and the memory crisis in full swing, demand probably isn't going to ease soon. Although r/GameStop moderators have since confirmed the validity of the poster, readers should still treat it as an internal leak for now, not an official price change. GameStop hasn't commented on this incident yet.

The next-generation Xbox Elite Series 3 controller has been revealed by none other than Microsoft. Within the Design Lab service, where gamers can customize their Xbox controllers and order them directly, Microsoft recorded a controller named "Edessa," which is linked to an accessory or customization product called "Beatrice." Today, we learn that Microsoft is preparing a more customizable controller than the current Elite Series 2. Thumbstick options reportedly include Hall effect modules with standard, loose, and tight tensions, along with a TMR-based option. This could allow users to choose both the sensing technology and the feel of the sticks. There is also a low-friction "silent" stick option, available in standard and longer neck designs.

Haptic feedback may also receive an upgrade. One listed motor configuration combines impulse trigger motors with voice-coil haptics, potentially delivering more advanced feedback than the existing Elite controller. Another feature mentioned is an "Audio Scroll Wheel," which seems to indicate a dedicated physical dial for controlling audio. Faceplates include metal finishes, predefined designs, multiple colors, and engraving options. Paddle configurations are similarly extensive, covering standard, classic, and doublewide shapes, with different lengths and layouts, including a Butterfly arrangement or no upper paddles. Several D-pad designs are also listed, with separate cosmetic and performance variants. The Beatrice platform alone reportedly contains 27 topper and paddle combinations.

The latest HWiNFO 8.53 beta (build 6075) lists "Improved Nova Lake QS support and fixed SA VID reporting" in its changelog, as spotted by VideoCardz. QS stands for qualification sample, a stage that comes well after the early engineering samples that Intel sends to partners, and it usually sits much closer to retail silicon. HWiNFO has mentioned Nova Lake before, including enhanced support for the mobile Nova Lake-H and HX chips, but this is the first changelog line we've seen that names QS silicon directly. That strongly suggests Nova Lake hardware is very close to its retail form.

The System Agent VID fix is a small detail, but it looks like HWiNFO's developer is working with real telemetry rather than just adding a new identification string. That would suggest at least some developers or validation partners already have Nova Lake QS hardware, although this is an inference from one changelog line. Intel hasn't confirmed Nova Lake launch dates yet; however, previous reports point to an early 2027 release. Leaked roadmaps suggest 28-core desktop parts will arrive first, with the 52-core flagship arriving later in 2027.

YouTube juggernaut Linus Media Group's secondary channel, ShortCircuit, accidentally published its Steam Frame first impressions video ahead of Valve's embargo, giving us an early hands-on look at the headset before official coverage. The video, framed as the team's first 30 minutes with the device, was live long enough for people to grab copies, and clips are now circulating widely on social media even though the original upload was taken down. The leaked video still doesn't confirm the Steam Frame's final price, which Valve hasn't announced yet. The video does, however, give a detailed look at Valve's new VR headset, and walks through box contents, setup, fit, and a range test.

On the pricing front, Linus revealed that the Ergonomics Accessories Kit will cost $60 as a separate purchase, covering an extra headset strap and straps for the controllers. The video also confirms the Steam Frame's controllers use replaceable batteries rather than the built-in rechargeable cells found on the Valve Index's controllers. Valve has been inching closer to launch for weeks now, updating Steam backend packages and shipping a stable SteamVR update. An insider previously pointed to September 14 as a possible release date, so we may not have to wait long to see if that holds up.

The RPCS3 developers have made their stance on DLSS 5 pretty clear after fans started poking around with a leaked version of the tool on the PS3 emulator. Responding to questions about whether official support was coming, the team posted on X that some users are already testing a leaked DLSS 5 DLL on the renderer, but that they've seen what it produces and want no part of it. Modders are already testing DLSS 5 on emulators such as PCSX2, but the RPCS3 team apparently wants its emulator to avoid it completely. Here's what they posted:

"Whilst the gaming industry pushes more upscalers and frame generation to hallucinate games and hide their lack of optimization, we do not ship any of that slop."

The leaked DLSS 5 DLL keeps finding new homes, and support has now spread to RTX 20-series "Turing" GPUs. That architecture is three whole generations behind the NVIDIA-recommended "Blackwell," and modders are showing no signs of stopping either. Developer ShortFuse has released new DLSS-NR builds for older RTX hardware, including one described as a "speed boost" build for RTX 20-series. The results are still a mixed bag, however. Some games run, while others crash or fail to initialize. Red Dead Redemption reportedly worked, while Red Dead Redemption 2 did not, and Hogwarts Legacy got stuck in a standby state instead of activating the feature. GTA 5 ran for about ten seconds before the display signal dropped out entirely.

Moreover, X user @DystopianSuns says the community now has DLSS 5 running on RTX 20 and RTX 30 GPUs using an FP16 implementation. This is a change from the FP8 approach that previously tanked performance on Ampere cards. FP16 should suit Turing and Ampere better, since neither generation accelerates FP8 the way Blackwell does. With this approach, users reported respectable performance in many titles on the RenoDX Discord using RTX 30-series cards. The same X user apparently got Manhunt running through the PS2 emulator PCSX2 with DLSS 5 enabled, and other testers report the mod working in older titles built on DirectX 9 and DirectX 11, well outside the APIs NVIDIA has confirmed for the feature.

DLSS 5 leaked through an early-access build of NBA 2K27 last week, and since then, the modding community has been hard at work patching it into all sorts of different games. Modders on the RenoDX Discord have now pushed it into RTX 30-series "Ampere" GPUs, despite this generation having no official support for DLSS 5. The results, however, are less than stellar. On the RenoDX Discord, a user with an RTX 3070 laptop GPU running Kingdom Come: Deliverance II saw render latency jump from roughly 29 ms to over 3,300 ms with Neural Rendering enabled, resulting in well under 1 FPS.

Over on X, user @Flourek got it running on an RTX 3080, and it fared little better. It too, however, dropped from around 130 FPS to just 4 FPS in Deep Rock Galactic, while RTX 3050 and RTX 3060 Ti cards reportedly hovered near 1 FPS across Control, FiveM, and Kingdom Come: Deliverance II. Just a couple of days ago, modders got DLSS 5 running on RTX 40-series "Ada Lovelace" cards, and performance held up noticeably better. As we noted in our DLSS-NR deep dive, Ampere lacks native FP8 support, which the leaked DLSS 5 model apparently relies on, so the steep drop isn't surprising. Officially, DLSS 5 only supports RTX 50-series "Blackwell" GPUs, and there's no word about whether NVIDIA even plans to add support for RTX 40-series cards, let alone older ones.

Unfinished gameplay footage from EA Motive's long-quiet Iron Man game leaked online on Friday, and EA just came forward and confirmed it's real. The roughly two and a half minute clip, watermarked "AUG26 TEST", spread first on ResetEra and then across Reddit and social media. The footage shows Tony Stark flying through a city, possibly Chicago, fighting enemies on the ground and in midair, and visiting what looks like a S.H.I.E.L.D. helicarrier. It's clearly early work, with rough textures and unfinished cutscenes, but the flight and combat look fairly polished for something this far from release.

EA decided to confirm the leak rather than taking Rockstar's approach and issuing DMCA takedowns. The publisher posted through the official Marvel's Iron Man X account, which had been silent since it was created in 2023.

"Well, that didn't go as planned. But now you know, and we've got a lot more to show you. See you when we're ready."